Whitney Houston's Funeral Taking Place Today

The funeral of Whitney Houston is taking place today in her hometown of Newark, New Jersey.

The ceremony, which is private and by invitation only, will be held at the New Hope Baptist Church close to the area where she grew up.

Whitney [uuid=28847efa-4fed-4dde-b882-8e7d57c45225]Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder have both been confirmed as performing at the ceremony and there will also be contributions from her cousin Dionne Warwick, singerAlicia Keysand Whitney's musical mentor Clive Davis.

The area around the church will be blocked off by police in an attempt to keep the media and members of the public at a distance - although the ceremony will be filmed and [uuid=6f456429-9b6f-46ec-ac77-dc8ef7a91406]Ray J, has issued a statement.

It read: "Over the past few days, I've tried to process the emptiness that I am experiencing. What my heart feels cannot be expressed in words. The world lost an icon, but I lost my close friend.

"Nippy, I miss you so much! You were so happy and full of love. Your smile will live in my heart forever."